DOE’s Moab UMTRA Project celebrated a major milestone – 16 million tons of residual radioactive material (RRM) safely removed and relocated to the Crescent Junction disposal cell. The achievement reflects the strong partnership between DOE’s Office of Environmental Management and S&K Mission Support in advancing one of the nation’s most significant uranium mill tailings cleanup efforts.
MOAB, Utah — On April 9, 2026 the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project celebrated a landmark milestone: removal of a cumulative 16 million tons of residual radioactive material and the complete disposal of the uranium mill tailings pile away from the Colorado River, enabling future beneficial reuse of the cleanup site. Behind the scenes of this historic achievement is S&K Mission Support LLC (SKMS) – the project’s Technical Assistance Contractor (TAC) – whose sustained support has been instrumental since the project’s inception.
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) team members commemorated the achievement at a community ceremony, celebrating the strong partnership and collaboration among federal, state, and local partners that made this milestone possible.
Aerial view of the Moab UMTRA Project’s Moab site, adjacent to the Colorado River near Moab, Utah, taken in September 2025 – the same month the project achieved the milestone removal of 16 million tons of residual radioactive material (RRM).
S&K: A Partner Since Day One
Operating under the S&K Technologies (SKT) umbrella, S&K has served as the Moab UMTRA Project’s TAC prime contractor since 2007, when S&K Aerospace (SKA) was awarded the original TAC contract. The company has since transitioned through S&K Logistics Services before arriving at its current form as S&K Mission Support LLC – maintaining uninterrupted TAC support throughout, in partnership with teaming partner Pro2Serve Professional Project Services (P2S). Embedded within the project’s daily operations, the SKMS TAC team delivers a broad range of essential support services, including:
- Project Management and Project Controls
- Closure Management Planning and Coordination
- Quality Assurance and Oversight
- Radiological Protection
- Public Affairs/Community Relations
- Information Technology (IT) and Communications
- Property Management (Real, Personal, Fleet)
- Records Management
- Safeguards and Security
- Safety and Health
- Training
- Administrative Support
This comprehensive support infrastructure has helped keep the Moab Project running efficiently for nearly two decades — enabling DOE crews to focus on the core mission of safely relocating 16 million tons of uranium mill tailings from the banks of the Colorado River to the permanent disposal cell in Crescent Junction, Utah, 30 miles to the north. DOE took over the Moab site in 2001, and when SKA secured the TAC contract in 2007, it laid the groundwork for the tailings removal operation that began in 2009.
The Moab UMTRA Project celebrated the removal of 16 million tons of uranium mill tailings from its Moab, Utah, site by transferring the final tile from one commemorative plaque — depicting the Moab tailings pile — to another, representing the disposal cell in Crescent Junction, Utah.
Pictured from left, foreground: Moab Mayor Joette Langianese; U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management Acting Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jack Zimmerman; Moab Tailings Project Steering Committee Chair Mary McGann; DOE Office of Legacy Management Deputy Director Lara Beasley; and Grand County Commission Chair Melodie McCandless. Moab Project Federal Cleanup Director Matt Udovitsch is pictured in the background.
A Milestone Decades in the Making
A main attraction at the ceremony was a set of commemorative plaques commissioned at the project’s start in 2009, when tailings removal began. One plaque depicted the tailings pile with 16 movable tiles — each representing 1 million tons of tailings. Over the years, each tile was transferred to a second plaque depicting the Crescent Junction disposal cell, marking each million-ton increment of progress. The placement of the final tile at the ceremony signified both the complete disposal of the pile and the achievement of the 16-million-ton cumulative milestone.
“Sixteen million tons relocated and the tailings pile gone from the banks of the Colorado River is an incredible achievement to be part of,” said Tom Bachtell, SKMS Program Manager. “S&K and P2S are honored to have supported this project since the very beginning, and we remain just as committed as we head into the final phase. We’ll see this through to site closure with the same level of dedication our team has delivered from the start.”
Aerial view of the Moab UMTRA Project’s Crescent Junction site disposal cell – thirty miles north of Moab, Utah – where the uranium mill tailings and other contaminated materials from the Moab site are being permanently disposed.
Looking Ahead: Final Phase and Project Closure
With the tailings pile fully relocated, the Moab Project now enters its final phase. SKMS will continue providing TAC support as the project team works to complete the remaining scope, which includes:
- Finalizing and implementing a groundwater compliance action plan
- Removing remaining contaminated soils in sub-pile and off-pile areas
- Completing radiological verification of cleanup
- Disposing of remaining equipment and infrastructure
- Completing an evapotranspiration (ET) cover
- Restoring and stabilizing the site through regrading and revegetation
DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) will work with the Office of Legacy Management to formally close the Moab Project sites, with closure expected in 2029. As the project moves toward that finish line, SKMS remains committed to the same high standard of technical assistance support it has delivered since the very beginning.
